We believe every child deserves to have the affirming, validating experience of seeing themselves and their world reflected and celebrated in the books they read. When we curate and distribute books, we seek to avoid those that perpetuate stereotypes, sexism, racism, and/or discrimination and we seek to uphold the perspectives and voices of the communities we serve.

In this time of broad backlash against social justice directly aimed at banning children’s books, it is our belief that filling children’s lives with beautiful collections of inclusive children’s books will help advance social justice, build empathy, combat the development of bias, and ultimately build a more anti-racist future. The Book Bank has been raising awareness about the need for inclusive children’s books and funds to provide them to thousands of children since 2015.

Launching A Story Like Mine

In 2015, the Children’s Book Bank launched an initiative called A Story Like Mine to prioritize including books with diverse representation in our book bundles to better meet the needs of the children and families we serve. We know through experience, and studies confirm, that children and families engage more with books when they can see themselves reflected in the pages they read and when they have access to books in their home language. 

In fall 2018, we expanded this initiative so that every child we serve receives a culturally inclusive book. 

In 2019, we expanded our collection to include stories featuring LGBTQ+ children and families and children with disabilities. 

In 2022, the Children’s Book Bank and SMART Reading joined forces as one organization to be able to serve even more children and families with inclusive and culturally diverse books. 

You Can Help

With your support, we have given over 73,000 culturally relevant books to more than 52,000 families, but the need is ongoing! 

Make a gift today and help us make the bookshelves of our children more diverse and inclusive. Or purchase culturally diverse books to donate – you can choose books from this list of our favorite inclusive books.